Six local 202 Sea Cadets and four 3064 Army cadets took part in the Regional Biathlon Competition on Jan. 7 at the Otway Race Club in Prince George.
Biathlon, said cadet coach Capt. Irene Berns, is a challenging sport that combines cross-country skiing and precision rifle shooting.
At the event cadets were required to ski a total of six kilometres and shoot three bouts of five rounds at a metal, drop-down target.
“Conditions were very extreme,” Berns said. “The snow was falling so much that competitors had trouble firing rifles because the chambers were filling up with snow before they could reload.
“Also, their sights were filling up with snow making aiming impossible.”
But despite these challenges, Berns said, the local cadets marched away on top and took home a lot of hardware to be proud of.
Army cadet Josh Tucker took first place overall while sea cadet Alex Phaneuf won second and army cadet Matt Nendick claimed third.
In the junior male category army cadet Olund Mork won first while sea cadet Huston Sigsworth took sixth.
In the senior female division sea cadet Emma Davidson nabbed first. Meanwhile, teammates in the junior female division — sea cadets Dana Rook, Chantelle Lebrun and Kaitlin Jants — claimed first, second and fifth, respectively.
The cadets will now take part in the Provincial Biathlon Competition at Mt. Washington on Vancouver Island from Feb. 3-5.
Berns added thanks are in order to volunteer Margaret Tucker, and to the parents who travelled with the team to cheer them on.